The Aid Package So Far

The Aid Package So Far

On January 11, 2000 the Clinton Administration submitted a $1.3 billion proposal for an increase in assistance to Colombia for 2000 and 2001. The proposal would substantially increase U.S. aid to Colombia's security forces.

The Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives met on March 9, 2000 and approved a version of the aid proposal that does not differ greatly from the administration's original package.
The full House of Representatives approved the bill on March 30, making only one change to the bill's dollar amounts: an amendment introduced by Rep. Thomas Sawyer (D-Ohio) mandated that at least $50 million go to assistance for internally displaced persons in Colombia. The amendment did not specify which parts of the bill would have to be reduced in order to increase funding for the displaced.
The Senate Appropriations Committee met on May 9 and approved a version of the aid proposal that differs siginificantly from the administration's original proposal. Military aid levels are cut deeply, largely due to the substitution of Huey helicopters for more expensive Blackhawks. (The overall strategy of a "push into southern Colombia" plus enhanced interdiction nonetheless remains in place.) The Senate version also increases the share of human rights assistance, and includes strong human rights conditions and reporting requirements..

I. Amount of the package going to Colombia

The "Colombia" section of the supplemental appropriation -- and the administration's original proposal -- also includes funding for other Andean region countries and for U.S. agencies involved in drug interdiction and law enforcement.

The House bill proposes $1.701 billion in new spending. About $1.007 billion of that -- 63 percent --would go to assist Colombia's government and security forces. Colombia is supposed to get $330 million in assistance that was already planned for 2000 and 2001, so the total for Colombia over two years would be $1.337 billion (including both military and economic aid).

The Senate Appropriations Committee version proposes $1.15 billion in new spending. About $714 million of that -- 62 percent -- would go to assist Colombia's government and security forces. Adding the $330 million in pre-planned aid, the two-year total for Colombia would be $1.044 billion (including both military and economic aid).



II. Breakdown of Colombia funding, 2000-2001 The House legislation changes only very slightly the ratio of 82% military/police aid to 18% economic aid found in the Clinton Administration's original proposal. The Senate Appropriations version, which replaces expensive Blackhawk helicopters with cheaper Hueys, reduces the military/police aid share to 73 percent. Funding for human rights programs triples to $55.5 million. The figures in the pie charts below include our estimate, based on budget requests and past years' data, of how the $330 million in previously planned assistance would be spent. (This previously planned aid comes from several accounts, primarily the State Department's International Narcotics Control program, the Defense Department's counter-drug budget, and emergency drawdowns of assistance.)


See the details behind these charts: Comparison table of House, Senate and Clinton Administration proposals (Color-coded by type of aid) [Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format (recommended), 277KB \| Web (.html) format, 484KB \| Microsoft Excel (.xls) format, 141KB]